


The Black brothers say goodbye

by who5555



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Grimmauld Place, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-02-28 22:57:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2750210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/who5555/pseuds/who5555
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the title, basically.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Black brothers say goodbye

There was no sound around the house, which was funny, considering the screaming that was going on just a few minutes earlier. There was a heavy atmosphere, though, and it kept getting heavier and heavier with the tick of the clock. 

It was just like after a storm: the sky was clear, but the earth was crumbling down. On the second floor, a door knocked.

 

\----------

 

Before leaving, Sirius Black touched his brother's door. He thought of knocking, he thought of screaming. For a few minutes, though, all that he could do was look at it, at his name. There were so many things he'd like to say to him. This seemed like the last opportunity. 

He pressed his head lightly against the wood and began to talk. First, as a whisper.

\- Reg… Regulus. Reg. - a sound of something moving on the bed could be heard - Reg. I know you're in there. 

He waited a few more minutes. Suddenly, there was no rush at all. Sirius closed his eyes and let his mind wander. His breath on the door touched his face back, gently, and for a great moment it all seemed like a big nightmare, something that happened to someone else. A movie, perhaps. A movie he'd seen long ago, a movie he wished to never see again. But now there was a sound just behind the door, and he was sure that Regulus was not going to open the door. But he was also sure that he could listen to him. So, he continued:

\- I know you can hear me. - he let his hand slip through the door. 

He never actually thought he'd be doing this. Of course, there was plans of leaving, and it was a dream rather than a nightmare, but, still, the thought of leaving his brother behind, even if it was his choice, terrified him. There was guilt and blame building up inside of him and he was sure he would have to let it go before leaving for good. In order to feel a little lighter, he would have to say it, even if more for himself than for the other.

\- There is still a chance to do good. - the words scrambled inside his throat. There was so much more that he wanted to say, but how? It was frustrating to have so many feeling and not being able to express them. _I know it's hard, man, but you can leave them. This is not what a family is supposed to be. This is not love, little brother, and you deserve love. You deserve so much more than this. You are so young, there's so much to learn, and I could teach you what I know. I could show you the way. And I could be your family, and we could be together._ Sirius squeezed his eyes harder, as if to make the words spill out of his mind. Instead, all his body managed to do was a punch on the door. 

Almost immediately, a piano started to play loudly. This would be her last straw, he thought. Finding a way to stop him from talking. Sirius' body started to shake, he wanted to run away from there as fast as possible. But he couldn't. There was still so many things to say. It seemed that the music went louder and louder as the minutes passed. The walls and door were now shaking too, but it was hard to tell if it was because of the music or because of the bodies that were being held against it. Sirius decided not to think about it.

He pressed his head ever further on the door, almost kissing it and said - finally, because that was all that he could say anymore, and he would have to leave.

\- Reg, you can come with me, you know. - There were certainly tears coming down his eyes now, and, for this next part, his mouth decided it was fair to scream through the music - I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'M GOING, REG, BUT I PROMISE I WILL PROTECT YOU. 

He was broken. He fell on the floor and pressed his hands on his face. 

He wasn't sure how long he stayed that way, but he was sure that the door didn't even flick or threatened to open, and he was also sure that the music was now louder than his thoughts, and, finally, he was definitely sure that he had to leave. Right now. He stoop up, bags on his arms and back, and left. Unheard and unseen.

 

\----------

 

Back at the Black house, Regulus was still clutching his chest, with his eyes closed. The other hand he was using to suppress his screams. He was on the floor, back against the door. Dry, from so much crying. There were so many things he did not understand. Like, why did he have to leave? 

But now Kreacher was knocking on the door, and the dinner was being served, and he would have to go and eat and act as if nothing had happened, because that was what they always did. 

Except, when his mother asked how was his day, he did not answer, because there were only two words pounding on the back of his mind and on the tip of his lips. Two words that he knew to be prohibited, for reasons he would never understand. Two words that would seem meaningless in this context. Two words that were too late. But those two words became like home to him, and every time he met or saw or heard of Sirius ever again, they would come back to haunt him. Until his very last breath, still far from coming, but already waving for him. Before being dragged away from his own consciousness, he would let them out, if only as his one legacy towards the world. If only to feel like he did something right. So before closing his eyes and giving up completely, he whispered, and the words belonged to the dead before he could finish it: Take me.


End file.
